Installing Tachometer (updated)

[dan2286]

Take a look at this, http://www.mmxpress.com/technical/connections.htm

Soldering is the best way to do it.

 

[custom442]

Ok, Thanks, How would you go about splicing it. Ive done it but never on something like this. Where should I peel back the plastic and should I wrap the whole green wire around it and tape it or should I do a different approach.

you buy a few splicers at your harware or auto parts store. Make sure you can splice it for a three way, should be about 2$ and it's much easier than soldering. Put the longer dist. tach wire in the outside and your new green tach wire end on the inside and press with a pliers. Do the same for the distr. hot wire with your new tach hot wire. takes 5 seconds to splice, literally

 

[87GrandPrix]

Ok, Thanks, How would you go about splicing it. Ive done it but never on something like this. Where should I peel back the plastic and should I wrap the whole green wire around it and tape it or should I do a different approach.

you buy a few splicers at your harware or auto parts store. Make sure you can splice it for a three way, should be about 2$ and it's much easier than soldering. Put the longer dist. tach wire in the outside and your new green tach wire end on the inside and press with a pliers. Do the same for the distr. hot wire with your new tach hot wire. takes 5 seconds to splice, literally

The Tach came with 2 of those splicers, It's all installed and everything, I mounted it really low profile, if you look on a grand prix dash, there is a panel under the steering column with a vent on it, I got a longer screwn and mounted the tach right onto the panel through the screw hole. It works nice, but I couldn't splice the illumination wire into the dimmer one so the illum. is fuzed into the ignition.

 

[custom442]

The Tach came with 2 of those splicers, It's all installed and everything, I mounted it really low profile, if you look on a grand prix dash, there is a panel under the steering column with a vent on it, I got a longer screwn and mounted the tach right onto the panel through the screw hole. It works nice, but I couldn't splice the illumination wire into the dimmer one so the illum. is fuzed into the ignition.

Cool, so everything works?

 

[87GrandPrix]

The Tach came with 2 of those splicers, It's all installed and everything, I mounted it really low profile, if you look on a grand prix dash, there is a panel under the steering column with a vent on it, I got a longer screwn and mounted the tach right onto the panel through the screw hole. It works nice, but I couldn't splice the illumination wire into the dimmer one so the illum. is fuzed into the ignition.

Cool, so everything works?

Yup I tested it all, the only thing is the tach light stays on as long as the ignition is on.

 

[custom442]

Yup I tested it all, the only thing is the tach light stays on as long as the ignition is on.

well I can't help you there, better read the instructions

 

[mr evil]

I know you have this in and working, but I thought I chime in here for benefit of future readers.
With regards to your illumination (white) wire, you should be able to look at your fuse block (under dash, drivers side) and if you read it you should see 1 or 2 spots that have 'ill' or 'illum' printed. the spot may or may not have a fuse or plug already in it. You can use a male flat prong connector (spade? connector) to plug in your white wire, it can piggy back on the exsisting connector.
A picture is worth a thousand words...

You can see how mine is done...I believe I used a factory connector I had laying around. If you are unsure of what is illumination only and what is hot at all times or with key/ignition on, use a 12v tester and turn on your park lights and poke around the block until the tester finds power-that is illumination power only.

Hope this helps...

 

[moose]

Re:

you buy a few splicers at your harware or auto parts store. Make sure you can splice it for a three way, should be about 2$ and it's much easier than soldering. Put the longer dist. tach wire in the outside and your new green tach wire end on the inside and press with a pliers. Do the same for the distr. hot wire with your new tach hot wire. takes 5 seconds to splice, literally

I'm about to install an aftermarket tach as well and just so I don't screw it up...
The "hot" wire is the same wire hooked up to the dist marked "batt", right?
Also, would splicing the red wire into the hot distributor wire eliminate the need for a fuse like Autometer recomends?
Same goes for connecting the red wire into the fuse box like in the video from OP

 

[moose]

Re:

I know you have this in and working, but I thought I chime in here for benefit of future readers.
With regards to your illumination (white) wire, you should be able to look at your fuse block (under dash, drivers side) and if you read it you should see 1 or 2 spots that have 'ill' or 'illum' printed. the spot may or may not have a fuse or plug already in it. You can use a male flat prong connector (spade? connector) to plug in your white wire, it can piggy back on the exsisting connector.

Future reader here...
I don't have any spot labeled "ill/illum" but I do have one for "A/C" which by comparison looks to be in the same spot your using.

and I basically connect the white wire to one of these

and just shove it in between the fuse and fuse box connectors?

 

[-83MONTESS-]

Not meaning to hijack the thread but I recently put in all aftermarket gauges and I was wondering what you guys did to run the hot wires? I mean did you run them from the fuse block or what? Im not an expert at wiring but I ran a wire rom the fuse block and then spliced all the specific wires into that wire.